Hi! I've enjoyed reading all the great topics here, and now I need your experience and help. Tomorrow, I've decided to train my stubborn 2 1/2 yo son. How do you teach boys? Standing up Sitting down? If so, what goes where? I know he might not be ready and that's OK, but I want to give it my all. My daughter was a cinch and had it mastered within 1 week, w/o any night accidents(no thanks to me- she was just easy). My son threw a fit at the mere thought of buying a potty seat.
Wish me luck!

I had both my boys (and daughter) sit backwards on the toilet. That way they could hold on to the tank
and not feel like they were going to fall in. And the boys are kind of sitting forward so everthing goes in the potty. lol My dd is my youngest and almost potty trained herself the week before she turned 2. She was dry day and night from day one. My boys didn't potty train until they were 2 1/2 and were not dry at night for years. One was 6 the other 4. It was nothing I did, they were just not ready. With the oldest he wanted to go to bed in undies so I changed sheets almost every night. The second one I got smart and just kept a night diaper on him. Good luck

My son took forever to potty train! He really liked standing though... he stood on his potty chair (because the lid folded down to turn it into a stepstool) and peed in the big toilet. Sitting might be more helpful for #2... I'm just glad I don't have more boys to train lol.. daughter was lots easier (and earlier) and I've been thinking about introducing my 18mo to the potty though I'm sure she's not ready yet....

18 months is young but I would put the potty chair out and let her get used to it. My dd is just 14 months younger then her brother and she wanted to do what he did so she would ask me to take off her diaper and put her on the potty. (This started around 20 months) A few times she really went but since she was young I didn't really try to potty train her. Then she woke up dry, something my boys had never done this young so I thought lets give it a try. It was the week before she turned 2 and she stayed dry all day in her undies. I would ask her if she needed to use the potty and she would only go when she had to and not when I asked. I put her in a diaper that first night and she woke up dry again. So from then on she only wore undies.

potty training my son and my youngest daughter was HELL. My middle daughter was so easy. We trained my son to sit down. He learned to stand up when he was older and had more control, lol.

__________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

Funny story:

I trained my son sitting...I guess he never saw his father. After his first day of school back in September he was all excited to tell me he had learned something new - GREAT I thought! "Mom - boys can pee standing up!!!". Great...my bathrooms haven't been the same since.

__________________
saraedawson@yahoo.com

Mommy to Jake, Alexis, Abigail and Joshua, Wife to Matt

A co-worker put a few cherios in the pot and let the boys shoot at them. She said it taught them great aim and they couldn't wait to play this game.

If your DS is stubborn, you'll need to come up with some way to make him think it was *his* idea to be potty trained. Whatever you do, do not fight him on it. If you come up to any resistance don't push him. That will just make him want to stay in diapers even more. You may have to offer some kind of reward or incentive to encourage him. My honest opinion is that if you can't train a child in a weekend, they aren't ready yet.

My oldest was 3 1/2 and trained in two days. He overheard me talking to his MMO teacher and asking if he was the only one not potty trained. She reluctantly told me 'yes', he was the only one. DS heard that and decided the next day he would be potty trained, and he was. He had very few accidents. I got a lot of flack because he was 'so old' and not potty trained yet, but my DS#2 was born two weeks before DS#1 turned three and there was just not a good time window for him to potty train before the baby was born. Those same people who had given me flack were suddenly asking for pointers because DS#1 was trained so fast & easily.

My youngest had just turned three and wanted to go to VBS at the church. He had to be potty trained in order to attend. I told him this over and over and one day he just decided it was time (just in time for VBS). He still had a lot of accidents but they were always at home. He would be playing and not want to stop for a potty break or it would be first thing in the morning and he didn't wake up fast enough in the morning to make it to the potty.

I never used 'Pull Ups' with either of them -- too much like diapers. I was very consistnat -- once they gave up diapers I did not put them back in them again, except DS#2 got diapers at night for a few weeks because I got tired of chaning sheets in the middle of the night. I changed a lot of clothing and sheets, but he did learn. He just turned 5 and we have not had an accident in a very long time.

Sarah.........mom to Jason & Devin

I had tile floors and I let my kids run around barebottom when we were home during potty training. They learned real quick and I did more mopping/cleaning than usual.

I don't have boys, but if I did, I'd do the cheerios thing - or any cereal. If you make it a game, it's fun. Wasn't there a post here about a urinal with a fly painted in the porcelain? It works for big boys (aka hubby) too! LOL

When my son was almost three, my husband did in one weekend what I couldn't do in six months. I went out of town for my best friend's wedding. While I was gone that weekend, DH completely potty trained our son (and yes, I'll never hear the end of it and he's 17 now!). He just stayed around the house all weekend and totally did away with the pull-ups and cloth training underwear. He put him into regular underwear. My son didn't like feeling wet and making a mess so he just started climbing up onto the toilet seat and going potty. He didn't use the potty seat either...just a stool so he could cliimb up onto the toilet. I do think that boys take longer to potty train than girls. Good luck... ~Lisa